U.S. Deficit Expected
To Top $500 Billion

WASHINGTON -- The White House will project a 2004 federal budget deficit in excess of $500 billion, above the record-sized $477 billion deficit that the Congressional Budget Office predicted Monday.

The higher deficit estimate, to be reported in the president's 2005 budget request Monday, could give the White House political headaches in the short run, drawing further attention to the nose dive the government's finances have taken on President Bush's watch. But some analysts have suggested that the $500 billion estimate --...